Geno just saw 5 minutes of UConn basketball perfection....

[DavidinNaples]

Geno Auriemma has been both admired and admonished for his relentless pursuit of basketball perfection. In his mind, the UConn offense should consist only of crisp passes, never ending movement and court wide vision. The result is the best possible shot, taken by just the right player, that touches only the bottom of the net. The defense should hold opponents scoreless and get every rebound. His practices are repetitive and monotonous to the point of exhaustion. In the end, Auriemma says players should work on basketball skills, not until they get it right, but until they can’t get it wrong.

For 5 minutes and 17 seconds against SMU, Geno got his wish as UConn displayed as close to perfect basketball as human players can possibly get. Consider the following:

1. Starting from the 19:44 mark in the first half, UConn made 10 of 10 shots, including 3 of 3 from the three point arc. The Huskies had assists on 9 of the 10 baskets.

2. During their 11 possessions, SMU tried 8 shots, but UConn blocked 3 of them. Of the remaining 5, only two went in. SMU had three times the turnovers (6) as baskets (2).

3. Defensively, in addition to the three blocks, UConn had 5 rebounds, 3 steals and forced 6 total turnovers.

4. All five players scored for UConn during the “period of perfection”, with Kia getting 5 assists, Stewie pulling down 3 rebounds and MoJeff scoring 11 points. Morgan Tuck had 3 baskets while KML had 3 assists and one 3 pt bucket.

5. UConn had 0 fouls and 0 turnovers during the run.

6. SMU ended that time w/ 6 turnovers, 3 fouls, 1 rebound and 0 steals to go with their 2 baskets.

7. The score at the 14:27 mark was 25-4 and the game was out of reach already.

If asked, Geno would probably point out the one missed free throw (Stewie) and SMU’s two baskets. On the surface, he is never happy. But deep down, he knows that was nearly as perfect a period of basketball as anyone has ever seen.


Go Huskies..!!

 

[alexrgct]

Don't disagree with any of that, but it was against a a really bad team. Moreover, Geno said at halftime he had no complaints about the starting five, but that the bench was "terrible". So he may have seen five minutes-plus of taking candy from a baby, but he saw almost 15 minutes that didn't make his day.

 

[DavidinNaples]

Don't disagree with any of that, but it was against a a really bad team. Moreover, Geno said at halftime he had no complaints about the starting five, but that the bench was "terrible". So he may have seen five minutes-plus of taking candy from a baby, but he saw almost 15 minutes that didn't make his day.

alex....I think you are totally discounting the effort by UConn. SMU lost to Texas A&M, #5 in the country, by 8 points. If playing SMU was "taking candy from a baby", how did Stewie end up 2 for 9? How did UConn miss 18 three pointers and half their total shots? Even KML was 3 for 8 from behind the arc. What was truly amazing about that 5 plus minutes was how EVERYTHING worked on offense & defense. It was beautiful to watch..!! Sorry you didn't see it that way..
Go Huskies..!!

 

[meyers7]

Don't disagree with any of that, but it was against a a really bad team. Moreover, Geno said at halftime he had no complaints about the starting five, but that the bench was "terrible". So he may have seen five minutes-plus of taking candy from a baby, but he saw almost 15 minutes that didn't make his day.

Some people, geez. Hate to live in your world.

 

[Shenandoah]

I realize that Stewie is getting double (and triple) teamed almost every time she touches the ball, but does anyone think that she also may be a bit worn down, either or both mentally/physically from playing with the USA Basketball senior national team (or whatever it's called) this summer? She seems to be missing a lot of shots that were practically automatic the previous 2 years.

 

[Intpseeker]

I realize that Stewie is getting double (and triple) teamed almost every time she touches the ball, but does anyone think that she also may be a bit worn down, either or both mentally/physically from playing with the USA Basketball senior national team (or whatever it's called) this summer? She seems to be missing a lot of shots that were practically automatic the previous 2 years.

No

 

[Buzzyboy]

alex....I think you are totally discounting the effort by UConn. SMU lost to Texas A&M, #5 in the country, by 8 points. If playing SMU was "taking candy from a baby", how did Stewie end up 2 for 9? How did UConn miss 18 three pointers and half their total shots? Even KML was 3 for 8 from behind the arc. What was truly amazing about that 5 plus minutes was how EVERYTHING worked on offense & defense. It was beautiful to watch..!! Sorry you didn't see it that way..
Go Huskies..!!

I would venture to say that you can't give all the credit, maybe not even a lot of the credit whenever a player has an off shooting day. A lot of times the defense may have a lot to do with it but there are other times when the player would be missing those same shots in an empty gym with no one else there. You've got to evaluate each attempted shot and find out if there was any appreciable pressure that you could credit with having affected the shot. I'm just being the devil's advocate because I think too often people look to give credit for a bad performance to someone when it isn't really earned. I've seen a defensive back get credit for an interception even when he ended up in the wrong location and the ball he "intercepted" hit him right in the numbers with no one potential receiver anywhere near him. Just a fluke but somehow you'd get the impression he made a superb defensive play. Not always true!

 

[Buzzyboy]

No

I disagree because there is such a thing as burnout and it can't just be dismissed with a "no" reply. It's sometimes hard to keep an edge in competitive sports day in and day out! Sometimes you just aren't fresh anymore and it's possible that is the case with her. I know she was supposedly awesome with the national team this summer but maybe it's taken it's toll.

 

[Boreifs]

I disagree because there is such a thing as burnout and it can't just be dismissed with a "no" reply. It's sometimes hard to keep an edge in competitive sports day in and day out! Sometimes you just aren't fresh anymore and it's possible that is the case with her. I know she was supposedly awesome with the national team this summer but maybe it's taken it's toll.

Supposedly awesome? In the televised games, she looked like she didn't belong on that team, and wouldn't have been on it if everyone in the pool had been healthy. I think it may be the opposite; she hardly played competitive basketball this summer and may have lost some confidence in her game as a result. OR, none of it matters; she is just not as dominant yet as she will be in March.

 

[meyers7]

I realize that Stewie is getting double (and triple) teamed almost every time she touches the ball, but does anyone think that she also may be a bit worn down, either or both mentally/physically from playing with the USA Basketball senior national team (or whatever it's called) this summer? She seems to be missing a lot of shots that were practically automatic the previous 2 years.

I disagree because there is such a thing as burnout and it can't just be dismissed with a "no" reply. It's sometimes hard to keep an edge in competitive sports day in and day out! Sometimes you just aren't fresh anymore and it's possible that is the case with her. I know she was supposedly awesome with the national team this summer but maybe it's taken it's toll.

How about dismissing it with stats?

Last year Stewart avg 49.7% on 2 pts and 34.3% on 3 pts (also 77.4% on FTs)
This year Stewart is at 50.4% on 2 pts and 37.1% on 3 pts (also 77.5% on FTs)

Soooooo, actually she is shooting better this year even though she is obviously physically and mentally worn down, burned out and not as fresh.